The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-09-25


before the bar Of tavern. rather than At the
bar OF justice.
1t 10 probable that no lawyer ever entered on
n moro hopeless undertaking than did Patrick
Henry when he consented to appear for the de-
PENDANTS, whose counsel had abandoned them.
In the celebrated parsons case" The court
had already pronounced invalid the act Of tho
colonial Legislature. In pursuance Of which
the vestry Of Fredericksville parish had with
held from the rector two-thirds Of his salary.
and II only remained to summon special jury
to determine the damages sustained. The jury
was summoned. and It was established by I'M
disputed testimony that the price Of tobacco
(by q previous and valid statute the parsons
were to be remunerated in tobacco)
was ut the time three times ns
much as had been allowed In the pay
mcnt OF paper money made to tho plain
tif. Yet, after Patrick Henry spoke, the jury In
less than 1ve minutes brought in a verdict Civ
ing the plaintiff but one penny damages When
We learn that the advocate based his argument
mainly on constitutional grounds, contending
that under tho charter OF Virginia and the
rights which the colonists inherited from their
English forefathers the King Of England had
no right % withhold his sanction from the act
Of the Legislature authorizing the payment OF
parsons In paper money We can understand the
enthusiasm which the speech excited. the
prompt summons OF the speaker into pub
lic life. and the stand which he Immediately
took on behalf OF popular liberty. Some OF
those who heard him at this time condemned
his utterances as seditious. but there were
far moro who felt that Virginia needed moro
sedi,ion Of the kind. Early in May. 1765. Pat
rick Henry was elected by the county OF Louisa
member OF the House Of Burgesses, and with
oft b, had nj
seat this young man Of 20 made his memorable
speech upon the Stamp act. supplanted at
stroke the old and distinguished representa-
tives Of the tiiewater aristocracy. and acquired
incontestably the leadership Of the assembly.
As we purpose In this notice to look closely
not at undisputed facts, but on points In the
life OF Patrick Henry on which new light Ia
thrown by the present biographer. We will not
dwell on the well-known speech in favor OF
resolutions condemning the Stamp act, with
its famous peroration-" Cesar had his
Brutus." &c. We prefer. also. to pass over the
nine years Of professional and legislative dis
dnction that were to supervene before the ap-
pearance Of Patrick Henry in the first Conti-
mental Congress which convened at Phfladel-
phia in September. 1774. 1t is plain from the
testimony OF the records and the members Of
that body-more OF which has been &C.
by Wirt-that Henry made a much morn i'm
posing figure In 1t than would be inferred from
the sighting allusion by Jefferson. who. we
should remember. was no speaker and would
have been glad to zee the written word made
the sole criterion OF intellect There seems to
be no doubt that Writ was gravely misled In
his treatment OF this epoch Of Henrys career.
having evidently derived his impressions from
jefferson. and having credited them to him In
the original manuscript, although in the book
as published he RETAINED. at Jenerson's re-
quest, from mentioning his authority.
All contemporary accounts OF Patrick
Henry's first speech In tho Con-
tinental Congress show 1t to have been no mere
portrayal Of general grievances. but plain and
effective handling Of those details OF business
for which, according to Writ, he proved himself
untitled. Further and conclusive testimony on
this head is furnished by the records Of the
Congress which bear witness to his service on
. great number OF committees intrusted with
practical concerns o! paramount Importance.
I. Is true that on some s6bjacts which may
be termed general" but which are plainly
fundamental. he gave utterance to thoughts
which never should have been forgotten. 1t
was here. for instance. that he said speaking
for the oldest. largest, and proudest Of the
colonies, The distinctions between Virginians,
Pennsylvanians. New Workers. and New Eng
landers are no more / am not a VirEinian. but
an American" 1t was here. too, that he laid
down principle OF equity with regard to rep
resentation which 1t might have been well for
his countrymen Of the slave States to accept.
Slaves" he said. are to be thrown out Of the
question: and il the free men can be repre-
sented according to their numbers am salts
fed" But no moro convincing proof Is fur
Mt MI 81 ia
to their homes by his colleagues. that Patrick
Henry was o man Of extraordinary wisdom and
insight, than the praise bestowed BY q man
who was by no means lavish Of
that commodity. John Adams. who formed
his estimate Of Patrick Henry chiefly
from what he saw OF him at the time. has left
In writing his opinion that :" in the Congress OF
l774 there was not one member except Patrick
Henry who appeared sensible Of the precipice,
or rather the pinnacle. on which We stood. and
had candor and courage enough to acknowl-
edge it." To Writ also. with whom the admis-
sion should have had moro weight. the same
uneffusive dispenser Of eulogtum testified that
f" Patrick Henry always impressed him as o
person OF deep reflection. keen sagacity. clear
foresight. daring enterprise, infexible intro
pidity. and untainted integrity. with an ar
dent zeal for the liberties. the honor and fs-
uclty Oh nlb country anu MS Speclce-
We come now to the speech made by Patrick
Henry in March. ITS. to the second revolution
airy Convention Of Virginia. speech which Is
to this day better known to Americans than
any other. and which must undoubtedly be
ranked among the greatest speeches ever ut
tered. Prof. Tyler has dispelled the notion
which at one time gained currency that the re-
port OF this speech handed down In Wirt's biog-
raphy is apocryphaL He shows BY an array OF
testimony. much OF which has only been forth
coming since Wirt's book was published that
in all essential particulars wirt's version Ia
correct. Conspicuous among such corrobora-
tive recollections are those OF John Roane and
st. George Tucker. who both heard the speech.
and the latter Of whom wrote down at the time
q passage OF considerable length in almost the
exact language given by Writ. There is moth
ing In Prof. Tyler's book 60 impressive as an
extract from Roanes account OF the effect pro-
duced by the speech. an account which was
taken down in writing by Edward Fontaine in
1884. or seventeen years after Wlrt's biog-
raphy appeared Our readers will thank US
for reproducing the whole extract. which Is not